


Across Enemy Lines

by imtoolazytothinkofausername



Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Yassen can be a dick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:00:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26590009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imtoolazytothinkofausername/pseuds/imtoolazytothinkofausername
Summary: After Alex goes missing and after being blocked out of the investigation, Ben Daniel goes to the only person he knows who can help.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 60





	Across Enemy Lines

**Author's Note:**

> Note: I do not own Alex Rider or affiliated characters, and I did not write this for profit.

When Ben came to, it was to the feeling that someone had taken an axe to his head. That had undoubtedly been from the blow that had knocked him out. He probably had a concussion. Despite the pain, though, the agent felt a sense of triumph. He wasn’t dead, which meant they were planning on questioning him. That part of his plan had worked at least. 

The room was dark. He could see the outlines of shelves in the corner and maybe some stairs to the left, but not much more. His hands and feet had been tied to a chair. The ropes were tight, probably tied by someone who had held lots of people prisoner in this very room. Ben started working on them right away. He didn’t know how long he’d been there, but it was only a matter of time before someone came to interrogate him. Even if that person was Yassen, Ben was in a precarious position. He’d stand a better chance if he could get loose before he was joined by his captor. 

Ben had known the risks when he’d first thought of this plan. He’d known that he wouldn’t get out of this unscathed, possibly not even alive. That he might not even get to see Yassen, and that even if he did, Yassen might kill him. But Alex was missing. Ben didn’t trust Jones, but he also didn’t have the resources to investigate himself. That left only one option, and Ben had decided that the risk was worth it. After all, if Alex died because Ben sat back and did nothing, Ben wouldn’t be able to live with himself anyway. 

The MI6 agent was lucky that he had been able to track Gregorovich down at all. It wasn’t as if the assassin stayed in touch with _him_. Ben thought that Yassen had given Alex a way to contact him, but Alex had never shared that information, and Ben doubted Alex would have left that information just lying about. But while Ben’s access to any files about Alex had been restricted as soon as the agent had started asking questions, he still had access to files about almost every criminal of which MI6 was aware, and he still had one contact who was willing to risk Mrs. Jones’s wrath if it meant helping Alex. 

Smithers had been able to conduct an image search for Yassen’s face throughout almost all major traffic cameras in the world. Ben had a feeling that to do this the man was already pushing the limits of MI6’s authority, but if Smithers was willing to take the risk, Ben certainly wasn’t going to try to dissuade him. Not when Alex’s life could be on the line. 

He’d been able to track Yassen to a town in France, and from there it was easy enough to connect Yassen to a wealthy business man, Biederman, who was rumored to have ties to the Mafia. How to contact Yassen, though had been another problem entirely. The agent had hoped that he would be able to simply approach Yassen when the man went into town, but the assassin didn’t seem to leave the mansion. His next idea had been to watch the mansion without taking too much care to hide himself, but it would have been more likely that the guards at the door would force him off. If he returned, he’d be shot. There would be no reason to question him. He would just be considered a nuisance. Why bother to interrogate him? That had left one option: Ben would need to break into the mansion. 

If he was lucky, he’d be able to get to Yassen undetected by anyone else. More likely the former SAS man would be caught before he could find the assassin, but hopefully that would at least lead to Ben being brought face-to-face with Yassen. For all his planning, Ben still wasn’t sure about that part. Yassen was a man of many talents. He could have been employed for almost any purpose. Would the billionaire who owned the mansion think an intruder was worth a former Scorpia agent’s attention? Surely the guards had handled intruders before. But Ben knew that if Yassen was at all aware of Ben’s presence, he’d want to talk to him. And once Ben told Yassen that Alex was in danger, then Yassen would drop everything to save Alex. The assassin may have been a cold-hearted son of a bitch, but he loved Alex; Ben was certain of that. What would happen to Ben...well, that was less certain. 

The MI6 agent had made it into the mansion. That much he remembered. He hadn’t been there 10 minutes before running into a guard. They’d fought, but Ben assumed that his headache and current predicament meant he’d lost. Now he could only wait and hope that Yassen would be the one sent to interrogate him. 

Ben didn’t know how long he sat there in the dark. For that matter, how long had he been unconscious? But eventually, he heard the creak of a door opening, and a bright light flooded the room. A thousand knives stabbed into his temple, and he closed his eyes to block out the glare. 

He could hear footsteps, and then a hand cupped his chin and tilted his head up and to the side, aggravating a wound. Ben hissed and swore, pulling away. The hand dropped and he could hear the newcomer walk to the other side of the room. Seconds later there was the sound of a chair being placed across from him. 

"Mild lacerations to your temple. And you likely have a concussion,” A familiar voice said in clipped tones. 

Ben opened his eyes to slits, blinked, and slowly opened them farther as they adjusted to the light. For a moment he saw two Yassens sitting across from him. He waited until they merged into one before speaking. “Damnit, could you dim the light? My head-” 

“I could, but I’m not feeling charitable right now.” Yassen's voice was calm, even, but Ben thought he detected something similar to exhaustion in it. He paused for a moment, eyes scanning Ben’s face, then dropping down to examine the rest of him, no doubt trying to determine whether he had any weapons. “I was surprised that Biederman attracted the attention of MI6. His operations don’t seem quite enough to warrant their interest.” 

“I’m not here with MI6.” 

“Then why _are_ you here, Ben? If you did any surveillance at all you would have known I was here. Why didn’t you leave then?” There was frustration in that question, and Ben understood. Ben’s presence put Yassen in a compromising position. Yassen couldn’t let Ben interfere with his job, yet if he killed Ben, even if Yassen himself would feel no guilt, the assassin would need to explain the agent’s death to Alex. 

“I came here _because_ you were here. It’s Alex. He’s missing.” 

“What do you mean ‘missing’? What happened?" The assassin’s eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. 

“I...Jones split us up.” Ever since the incident with Winston Yu, Ben and Alex had been paired together more often than not. When Alex wasn’t working with Ben, he was usually working with Wolf. Mrs. Jones said that she felt better knowing that Alex had someone to watch his back. But this time Wolf had been sent off on some other assignment, too. “Wolf and I were both sent on separate missions around the same time Alex was sent out. Jones wouldn’t tell me much about where she was sending Alex. Said it was classified but that it wasn’t dangerous and that he’d be back before me. I didn’t put too much stock in that, and I wasn’t too surprised, to get back first, but it’s been too long. It’s been two weeks since I last saw him.” 

Yassen’s expression hadn’t changed, but Ben got the feeling that the man’s anger was increasing. “And you waited that long to tell me?” 

“No.” Ben snapped. “I spent a little over a week in the field, two days trying to find him on my own, and three days tracking you down because I had no other way to contact you!” 

Something dark flashed in Yassen’s eyes, and he took a step forward. Ben had to admit that if he hadn’t been tied to a chair he might have backed away. He’d seen Yassen kill people for lesser reasons than implying that the man had possibly been at fault in a matter concerning Alex Rider’s safety. They glared at each other for several seconds, then Yassen’s face softened. Not by much, but enough for some of the tension to leave Ben’s muscles. 

“Go on.” The Russian muttered. 

In truth, Ben didn’t blame Yassen for not giving him a way to contact the assassin. It was true that they’d been thrown together a handful of times, and they’d each saved the other’s skins at least twice. But their meetings had always been accidental, and their motive for working together had been Alex. The kid was the only thing that made Yassen and Ben uneasy allies. There was no reason Ben should need to know how to contact Yassen, nor was there any reason Yassen should trust Ben with such information. It had been frustration, pain, and exhaustion that had made Ben lash out, but at least it seemed to have gotten the other man off his back for a moment. 

“When I asked Jones about Alex, she said that Alex was fine, that there was nothing to worry about, but there was something about the way she said it...something in her eyes...and there’s something more. Wolf hasn’t come back, so I don’t know about his mission. But mine was...mine was nothing. I watched a man for a week, and I didn’t find anything that would interest MI6. I looked up every file on him I could find. He’s embezzling money, sure, but it’s on a small scale. Unless MI6 is planning on blackmailing him, he’s simply not worth their time. They probably spent more money having me watch him than he’s embezzled in two years.” Ben shook his head and instantly regretted it as the pain made him curse. 

“I suggest you don’t move. Your injuries aren’t severe, but moving too quickly will only make them worse.” Yassen commented as if Ben hadn’t already realized this. Ben forced himself not to give a retort. “You believe you were sent away specifically so they’d have an excuse not to send you with Alex.” It wasn’t a question. Of course that was the reason. 

Ben resisted the urge to nod. “I don’t see why else I’d be asked to watch someone like that. Almost everything I found out could have been discovered by hacking the security cameras in his office and bugging his car. Anyway, I had a bad feeling about all of this, so I tried to access Alex’s files. Since I’ve been working with him, I’ve been given pretty much unrestricted access in case there’s something I need to know in the field. The things he’s been through! I’ve viewed them lots of times, but now my access has been restricted. That’s when I decided to try to find him myself, but all of my contacts are through my work with MI6. Anyone who knows anything won’t talk to me, and I’ve been told that if I keep pushing the matter I’ll be put on administrative leave.” 

Yassen hadn’t moved throughout this speech. Instead he’d kept this eyes fixed on Ben’s, studying him and his words intently. Now, the assassin let his eyes drift to the side as if lost in thought. 

“Well?” Ben asked impatiently after at least ten seconds of silence. 

Yassen sighed and looked back at the MI6 agent. “You did the right thing coming here. Alex could be fine. He’s the most impressive person I know...I think you already know that. But...I don’t like this.” 

“So, you’ll help find him?” 

This time Yassen’s lips twitched. “Of course. You knew I would when you came to find me. The problem,” Yassen stood up and came closer until his shins brushed against Ben’s knees, “is what to do about you.” He placed a hand on Ben’s shoulder. 

Ben felt his heart speed up. He’d already considered every possible fate before breaking into the mansion. He’d considered the possibility of being killed before even getting to see Yassen, and he’d considered the possibility that Yassen would kill him either to avoid suspicion or simply because the assassin could. A part of Ben had hoped Yassen would help him escape either due to some previously undisplayed fondness or because of Alex. But the smirk on Yassen’s face wasn’t filling Ben with optimism. 

“What are you going to do with me, Yassen?” He snarled, hoping he sounded like the idea that he might actually die hadn’t pushed him to the edge of a panic attack. 

“Well, I’ve been thinking about that since I first found out you were here.” Yassen shrugged. “I’m afraid I don’t see you getting out of this mansion outside of a body bag.” 


End file.
